The sleepy railway station that was only used 40 times in a year: Train stop in rural Midlands is country’s quietest, figures show
- There are no ticket-buying facilities, toilets or waiting room at Elton and Orston
- Only 40 passenger entries and exits were recorded at the station in 12 months
- London Waterloo has regained status as Britain’s most frequently used station
The least-used railway station in Britain saw only 40 journeys in a year.
There are no ticket-buying facilities, toilets or waiting room at Elton and Orston in rural Nottinghamshire.
Only 40 passenger entries and exits were recorded at the station in the 12 months to the end of March. It has dropped 28 journeys in two years, having recorded 68 in 2019/2020, according to the Office of Rail and Road (ORR).
The least-used railway station in Britain saw only 40 journeys in a year. There are no ticket-buying facilities, toilets or waiting room at Elton and Orston in rural Nottinghamshire
The station is served by two East Midlands Railway trains per day between Monday and Saturday.
The first departs at 7.04am towards Nottingham, while the second, going in the opposite direction, leaves for Skegness at 5.11pm. No trains call at Elton and Orston on Sundays.
London Waterloo has regained its status as Britain’s most frequently used railway station, after slipping to number four during the pandemic.
The ORR said there were an estimated 41.4million passenger entries and exits at the station in 2021-2022. The total is up from 12.2million during the previous year, but was below half the estimate of 86.9million in 2019/20.
The station is served by two East Midlands Railway trains per day between Monday and Saturday
In Scotland, Glasgow Central remained the most used station, with 15.3 million passengers, up from 5.3 million last year but down from 32.5 million two years ago.
Cardiff Central kept its status as the busiest station in Wales, with 7.5 million entries and exits.
That was more than three times as many as the two million in 2020/21, but remained down from the 12.7 million in 2019/20.
ORR director of planning and performance Feras Alshaker said: ‘It is heartening to see passengers return to travelling by rail following what was a difficult period for the industry during the pandemic.
‘There’s still some way to go in order for station usage figures to return to pre-pandemic levels.
‘Once again it is important to thank all those in the rail industry, who continue to work hard to help people travel safely and with confidence.’
he ORR’s estimates of station usage are derived from the rail industry’s ticketing and revenue system Lennon, with some local ticketing data.
Adjustments are made to ‘make the estimates as accurate as possible’, the regulator said.